In the context of network communications, bandwidth generally refers to an average rate of data transfer through a communication path. A measure of bandwidth thus can be determined by monitoring the rate at which data flows through the path, such as based on the amount of data through the path over a period of time. A given communication path in a network usually has a maximum available bandwidth sometimes referred to as a bandwidth cap. Accordingly, it is often desirable to understand the bandwidth utilization to help ensure that data integrity is maintained by not exceeding the maximum.
As an example, bandwidth is measured actively by injecting probing traffic into the network and observing the time delay from transmission to receipt. However, such active monitoring of bandwidth disturbs the network by introducing a load into the network. Additionally, active monitoring generally provides a rough estimate of overall bandwidth since the probes are not continuously transmitted throughout the entire network.